If you hate statistics and are involved in affiliate marketing, you will probably be disappointed to know that it is a very essential component to your success. For one, you will have to understand statistics in order to determine the viability of a program. You'll also need it to find out whether or not you can be hopeful regarding the financial side of your business.

Statistics will also help you determine how you can win in terms of affiliate marketing commissions, without which your program will be inadequate and your efforts useless. You'll also need to learn how to 'read' the numbers so you can maintain a sufficient balance in the factors that affect your future income.

Increasing your affiliate marketing commissions

Earnings from affiliate marketing programs come in the form of commissions, similar to the type of earnings that salespeople receive based on the sales they generate. Commissions are a type of performance-based income, in that the amount will depend on how much an affiliate can produce based on the sales brought in by his leads.

There are several factors that will affect the amount of commissions you'll earn from an affiliate marketing program. These are:

The choice of affiliate marketing program

Not every affiliate marketing program pays the same amount of commissions to its affiliates. Affiliates will have a choice of programs offering a low pay scale ranging from about 5 to 15 percent per sale or performance while others may pay as much as 60 to 75 percent, depending on the type of products or services being offered.

In affiliate marketing, all factors being the constant, best pay for sales will generate an increase in sales

Affiliate marketing is often not obvious. It does not require a genius to choose an affiliate marketing program that generates a greater commission when you have a niche or decent following in your market. There are going to be times when there will be no program that speaks directly to your niche, then you must a select various programs to generate your projected revenue

By maximizing your ability and opportunity and building your reputation in the process, you will be able to earn a decent income and solidify your presence at the same time.

The type of earning opportunity an affiliate program can offer will also make a difference in the amount of commissions you can hope to earn. Two-tier programs, for example, offer a better income-generating opportunity than flat programs. Two-tiers offer two income sources, generally from commissions on sales of a product or service and from recruitment of a new affiliate. Income from recruitment can either be a one-time cut (usually a flat rate) for recruiting each new member or a commission off of those members' future earnings.

Not all, but some affiliate marketing programs offer recurring commissions where their recruit generates a commission to the affiliate when they renew their team affiliation. This kind of program allows you to receive a stream of income as long as the recruit still uses the product or service.

Your choice of an affiliate marketing program must take into consideration the potential future income that can be generated from the commissions that you produce. It would not be prudent to make a decision without careful consideration of the different rates of commission.

The Product

Affiliate marketing commissions will also depend on the type of products or services the program offers. A product that has the misfortune to belong to a market that's already heavily saturated will be difficult to sell. On the other hand, a popular item can mean large sales if you have a strong and ready market.

Each program, in affiliate marketing, generates performance based statistics which can indicate your performance when you become an affiliate. There is an opportunity to view the past performance of an affiliate program at a website called ClickBank.

The market

Affiliate marketing commissions rely heavily on how effective an affiliate's sales and marketing strategies are. In many ways, they will also depend on the relative popularity of the affiliate and on the type of market he chooses to sell to. A small but highly targeted market is more likely to bring in higher commissions for an affiliate while a fairly large but generic market may not produce the same results.

The conversion period

When you have chosen the best and most income generating affiliate marketing program in respect to potential commissions, it then becomes imperative to shorten the conversion period

The conversion period references the amount of time between acquiring a lead and until they perform a given desired action. There are varying actions in which a lead can engage...such as obtaining a service, acquire a product, take a online survey or poll... or become a recruit. The conversion period can vary as well as the initiating cause that compels a lead to effect a desired action from 24hrs to 30 or 60 days .

Your job as an affiliate is to persuade your leads to shorten their conversion period and thus increase your affiliate marketing commissions within a reasonable amount of time.